WFU Schools of Business

J. Tylee Wilson Chair in Business Ethics Named at Wake Forest University Schools of Business

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Retired Colonel Sean T. Hannah will lead ethics programming and initiatives

A 26 year U.S. Army veteran and former director of the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic (CAPE) at West-Point - United States Military Academy will join Wake Forest University Schools of Business as Professor of Management and the J. Tylee Wilson Chair in Business Ethics.

Sean T. Hannah will lead ethics and character development programming and initiatives within the Wake Forest University Schools of Business.

We are fortunate to have someone with such extraordinary experience to provide direction and insight to help carry out our mission to prepare passionate, ethical business leaders who gain results with integrity, said Steve Reinemund, Dean of Wake Forest University Schools of Business.

Professor Hannah holds a PhD in Management from the University of Nebraska, Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Administration degrees from Syracuse University, a Master of Military Science from the Marine Corps University, and a Bachelor of Political Science degree from California State University.

He has taught courses in ethics, leadership, character development, and change management to both military and civilian audiences. He has also served as a consultant and training leader for corporate executives.

As a leadership scholar, Hannah has authored 34 articles plus numerous book chapters on leadership and character development. His works have been published in numerous top journals such as the Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Personnel Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Organizational Behavior; and The Leadership Quarterly.

Hannah, a retired Army Colonel, earned numerous awards and decorations in both peacetime and in combat including the Bronze Star, four Meritorious Service medals and 19 other medals, numerous service ribbons and three unit commendations.

Major Strategic Moves Often Come with Management Changes, says Professor Mike Lord

Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Newcomers take over key positions at Family Dollar
reposted from Charlotte Business Journal | by Jennifer Thomas

Family Dollar Stores Inc. has overhauled its top leadership team as the discount retailer expands its nationwide footprint.

Last month, the Matthews-based chain named Mary Winston as its next chief financial officer. In October, shell replace CFO Ken Smith, who has been with Family Dollar for 22 years. The company also announced Dorlisa Flur, who had been promoted to vice chair of strategy and chief administrative officer in September, is leaving Family Dollar.

Those moves followed the September arrival of Mike Bloom as president and chief operating officer.

And in December, Family Dollar promoted Paul White to executive vice president and chief merchandising officer.

All are veterans of the retail industry. And each has experience in the fast-growing consumables category, which includes food and health-and-beauty products. Family Dollar is targeting that sector for growth.

This is continuing the course, aligning toward our objectives and our goals, company spokesman Josh Braverman says of the management changes.

Howard Levine, son of company founder Leon Levine, remains chairman and chief executive of growing chain.

Braverman notes the changes come as Family Dollar continues to seek ways to be more efficient, align its resources and stay focused on its mission in the increasingly crowded dollar-store market.

Winston has more than 25 years of financial-management and leadership experience. She most recently was CFO and senior vice president of Pennsylvania grocery-store chain Giant Eagle Inc.

Bloom spent 20 years with CVS Caremark Corp., most recently overseeing merchandising, supply chain, marketing and advertising at the drugstore chain.

White previously was chief executive at Goodys, where he steered the companys exit from bankruptcy. His other retail experience includes senior merchandising roles at Shopko Stores and The May Department Stores Co.

Theyve replaced some Family Dollar veterans.

For example, Bloom took over for Jim Kelly, who had been part of the companys management team for 15 years. Flur had been with the company for eight years.

I think theyre just strengthening their bench, says Nick Mitchell, who follows Family Dollar for Cleveland-based Northcoast Research.

The changes follow a year in which Family Dollar faced and rejected an unsolicited buyout offer of up to $7.6 billion from New York-based hedge fund Trian Partners.

The company also announced layoffs of about 100 of the 1,500 employees at its corporate offices. (Family Dollar has more than 50,000 employees nationwide and operates more than 7,100 stores in 45 states.)

Mitchell says Trians takeover offer may have played a minor role in the management changes.

But more important, he says, the shift provides an opportunity for Family Dollar to ramp up its performance by improving sales and increasing its operating dollars per square foot.

Improved performance also will prevent other companies from attempting a takeover of Family Dollar, while also making the company more competitive with its chief rival, Dollar General Corp., Mitchell says.

The management changes put the right people in place for the next four to five years, he adds.

Meanwhile, Family Dollar continues to invest in expanding its business. It has projected capital expenditures of up to $600 million in fiscal 2012, which ends in August, to support store openings and renovations, to purchase stores and expand its supply chain.

The company is adding as many as 500 stores this fiscal year. Family Dollar also is expanding its offerings of food and health-and-beauty items by more than 1,000 products.

Major strategic moves and management changes often go hand-in-hand, says Mike Lord, a business-management professor at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem.

Key personnel are heavily influenced by their own particular background and experience, so they tend to set the direction of things, regardless of whats on paper, he says.

Professor Dan Fogel Discusses Charlotte Energy Cluster on NPR in Charlotte

Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Charlotte Talks: Energy Clusters
Reposted from WFAE 90.7 FM NPR Charlotte

Energy Clusters

In the wake of deep recession, cities all over America are finding ways to re-establish their identities or to create new ones. Charlotte is on its way to becoming an energy hub but how close are we to getting there and what do we have to do to compete as an energy cluster' in the global marketplace? The term energy cluster is one used by two Harvard Professors as part of a study of U.S. competitiveness. They are in Charlotte this week to release a report on Charlotte as an energy cluster and theyll explain what that means.

Guests
Willy Shih - Professor of Management Practice, Harvard University
Bill George - Professor of Management Practice, Harvard University
Dr. Dan Fogel - Professor, School of Business, Wake Forest University

Upcoming Charlotte CFO Alliance Event: "Consumating a Deal in Today's Economy"

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The process of merging two companies has been the subject of business school case studies for nearly half a century. However, no matter how carefully cataloged the rudiments of successful mergers may be, the number of mergers that fail annually remains staggering.

To help better expose the characteristics of success in mergers, The CFO Alliance has reached out to Melenie Lankau, a professor at Wake Forest University Schools of Business specializing in organizational behavior, to perform whats being dubbed a postmortem on the recent merger of Lance Inc. and Snyders of Hanover.

Recognized widely as a successful merger of equals, the creation of Snyders-Lance, Inc., involved multiple layers of critical decision-making according to Snyders-Lance CFO Rick Puckett.

He's agreed to assist Professor Lankau with her inquiry when together they facilitate a discussion for the Charlotte chapter of The CFO Alliance titled Consummating a Deal in Todays Economy: A Discussion with Rick Puckett, CFO, Lance Inc.

Scheduled to be held on May 9th at 7:30 a.m. at the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center. The discussion will preface a larger inquiry from The CFO Alliance Charlotte membership and is expected to address such areas as:
-Aligning Opportunities and Goals
-Assessing Your M&A Pain Points
-Identifying Cultural Levers
-How to Generate and Implement New Organizations for Competitive Advantage

Click here to register.

About The CFO Alliance
Established in January of 2008 to promote connectivity through a professional community of over 3,000 leading financial executives, The CFO Alliance brings together the experience, knowledge, and collective wisdom of peers, subject matter experts, and academic authorities to enable senior financial leaders and decision-makers to be more effective and act with greater confidence throughout their career. By fostering relationships among those with common objectives, interests, opportunities, and challenges, financial leaders can make long-term investments in their companies and their careers through sharing expertise and gaining confidence in their roles. Based on the success of the initial Philadelphia-based chapter, the CFOA has established a national expansion, with a current presence in 12 U.S cities. For more information, please visit http://www.theCFOAlliance.org/about or follow The CFO Alliance Community on Twitter: @theCFOAlliance

Schools of Business Faculty Receive Teaching, Research and Service Honors

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

WINSTON-SALEM, NC Wake Forest University Schools of Business faculty were honored for outstanding achievements during the annual Faculty Awards Recognition Ceremony held April 27 at the Paul J. Ciener Botanical Gardens in Kernersville.

Vice Dean Charles Iacovou welcomed attendees saying, You are a very dedicated team of faculty members. Our students are fortunate to have people like you helping them become the best they can be.

Iacovou began the program by announcing the awarding of tenure to faculty members Kenny Herbst and Sean Hannah. Herbst is a marketing professor whose research examines the effects of branding and trust on consumers. His history with Wake Forest dates back to his student days when he played basketball on back-to-back ACC Championship teams in 1995 and 1996. Hannah is a leadership scholar and retired U.S. Army colonel. He was formerly the director of the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic (CAPE) at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Hannah will serve as a professor of management and the J. Tylee Wilson Chair in Business Ethics at Wake Forest Schools of Business.

Marketing professor Sheri Bridges announced the establishment of the Bob Fly Business and Enterprise Management Marketing Scholarship. Bob Fly is a veteran advertising executive and has served as a marketing instructor at Wake Forest for 29 years.

Colleagues took time to celebrate the contributions of one of the longest serving faculty members of Wake Forest Schools of Business, Dr. Arun Dewasthali. Deswasthali, who was described as universally loved and adored by alumni, is retiring after 37 years of service to the University.

The full list of faculty awards was as follows:

Teaching Awards:

Ajay Patel received the Full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) Teaching Award which recognizes a member of the faculty for outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of Full-time MBA students and is based on a ballot of the graduating Full-time MBA students.

George Aldhizer received the Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) Graduate Class Teaching Award which recognizes a member of the faculty for outstanding contribution to the education of our Master of Science in Accountancy students and is based on a ballot of the graduating MSA students.

Kenny Herbst received the Master of Arts in Management (MA) Program Teaching Award which recognizes a member of the faculty for outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our MA students and is based on a ballot of the graduating MA students.

Bren Varner received the Senior Class Teaching Award which recognizes a member of the faculty for outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our undergraduate students and is based on a ballot of all graduating seniors across our undergraduate degree programs.

Julie Wayne received the T.B. Rose Fellowship in Business Award which recognizes a notable innovation or initiative related to instruction in undergraduate or graduate programs. This honor is chosen by a committee of past years winners and senior associate dean of faculty. This award is funded by David Cameron Rose.

Arun Dewasthali received the Horace Kelly Alumni Teaching Award which recognizes faculty for outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our undergraduate / Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) students who graduated 10 years ago and is based on nominations from alumni from the tenth anniversary class.

Sherry Moss and Jon Pinder received the Kienzle Alumni Teaching Award for outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our MBA / MA students which is based on a vote of alumni three years after graduation.

Dan Fogel, Chuck Kennedy and Ram Baliga were acknowledged for receiving Working Professional Program Teaching Awards earlier in the year. The honor recognizes outstanding contributions to the education and personal development of students in our Winston-Salem and Charlotte Working Professional MBA programs and is based on ballots from the graduating students of the fall 2011 and winter 2012 classes.

Adjunct Teaching Awards went to Jennifer Barksdale (graduate) and Bob Fly (undergraduate).

Research Awards:

Anna Cianci received the Cowan Faculty Research Award which recognizes faculty members who represent the highest standards of scholarship. This honor is chosen by the Schools of Business Research Committee.

George Aldhizer received the High Impact Scholarship Award which recognizes a faculty member for his/her significant influence on business practice or pedagogy. This honor is chosen by the Schools of Business Research Committee.

Service Awards:

Umit Akinc received the Service MVP Award which recognizes outstanding service to the school, above and beyond administrative duties. This honor is based on nominations from the Schools of Business faculty and chosen by the executive team.

Pat Dickson and Ron Thompson received the Spirit Award which recognizes a faculty member who displays good citizenship and positive attitude, and inspires other faculty to strive for high achievement. This honor is chosen by a ballot of the Schools of Business faculty.

Dean of Business Steve Reinemund congratulated all of the award recipients and thanked faculty for their dedication to students.

The Journal of Operations Management Names Award in Honor of Professor Jack Meredith

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Journal of Operations Management is recognizing the scholarly contributions of Wake Forest University Schools of Business Professor Jack Meredith with an award named in his honor. The first Jack Meredith Best Paper Award ceremony will be held at the 2012 Academy of Management Conference on Aug. 5 in Boston.

Meredith served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Operations Management from 1994 to 2002. During his Editorship, the Journal of Operations Management became established as the premier empirical journal in the field of operations management and supply chain management. The annual Best Paper Award was also established under his Editorship in 2001.

The top journals in the field at that time were taking a year or two to respond to authors submissions (amazingly, some still do), so when I took over JOM, I promised a response within 3 months, and the papers came pouring in. A dirty trick I suppose, but I got the best papers and was able to make JOM the best journal. It was easy to get the average response time down to a couple of months but the right tail of the distribution was a lot harder, said Meredith.

This is a well deserving honor that confirms the far-reaching and notable impact that Professor Meredith has had and continues to have on the academy. I doubt that there is an Operations Management faculty member anywhere in the country who has not studied Professor Meredith's body of work, said Charles Iacovou, Vice Dean, Wake Forest University Schools of Business.

Meredith is Professor of Management and Broyhill Distinguished Scholar and Chair in Operations at Wake Forest Schools of Business. He received his undergraduate degrees in engineering and mathematics from Oregon State University and his PhD and MBA from University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to his teaching career he worked for Ampex Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, Douglas Aircraft Company, and TRW Systems Group. He has also consulted for the National Research Council (Washington), the Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Sciences (Cincinnati), Illinois Institute of Technology, Digital Equipment Corp., Aluminum Co. of America, Warner-Amex, Spectrum Publishing, Educational Testing Service (of Princeton), Industrial Technology Institute, Cincinnati Milacron, Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, and John Wiley & Sons. He was Director of Operations and Industrial Management at the University of Cincinnati from 1976-1995 before moving to Wake Forest University.

He has co-authored five textbooks for college classes: Operations Management for MBAs (Wiley), Quantitative Business Modeling (South-Western), Project Management: A Managerial Approach (Wiley), Operations Management: A Process Approach with Spreadsheets (Wiley), and Project Management in Practice (Wiley).

Wake Forest University Schools of Business Students Inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Wake Forest University Schools of Business students who performed at the highest academic level in 2011-2012 were inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society on April 18 at Forsyth Country Club.

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines served as the keynote speaker and was inducted as an honorary member of Beta Gamma Sigma. He shared antidotes with the students about exemplary leaders who helped shape his career.

Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest recognition a business student anywhere in the world can receive in a business program accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International.

The Wake Forest chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma is led this year by mathematical business major Shannon McGorry (12) and is one of 500 campus chapters worldwide.

Wake Forest University congratulates the following initiates at the baccalaureate level. They earned membership in Beta Gamma Sigma for being ranked in the top 10 percent of their class. Tristan Konstantin Allen, Daniel Aaron Benjamin, William Ross Boatwright, Jeffrey Scott Bogle, Andrea Jane Buckley, William George Caster, Robert Powers Chin, Elizabeth Sumner Force, Jessica Deena Forkosh, Christopher David Hardy, Christopher John Hart, Phillip Robertson Iler, Stephanie Jordan Jack, William Patrick Johnston, Blake Russell Krienke, Edward William Landsman, Jaclyn Taylor Logue, Jiajun Lu, Karin Michelle Manley, Ian Andrew Molvie, Mitchell Adam Moore, Alison Marie Moy, Andrew Michael Newton, Patrick William ORourke, Maria Luisa Park, Timothy Burton Rodgers, Sara Elizabeth Spires, Hannah Sarah Steckler, and Stephen Lee Turner.

The following students earned initiation as ranking among the top 20 percent of graduate students in their class: Julie Elizabeth Almendral, Dosoo Amenyah, Tomas Domingo Arias Vasquez, Joshua Michael Barone, Mona Abdel Baset, Brandon Eugene Belk, Jason Bertinetti, Benjamin Christopher Clarik, Robert Michael Crowley, Jason Bradley Davis, Miranda Marie Dean, James Buchanan Ferguson, Kelly Brooks Ferrell, Adam Daniel Filipponi, Jorge Antonio Francke, Luke Thomas Frederickson, Ruiyan Ge, Keenan Charles Gradoville, Tasha Haynes Griffin, Michael Christopher Hamon, Heather Lynn Harper, Lilia Gianina Hink, Robert Graham Hink, Daniel Jeffrey Holtermann, Matthew Thomas Howard, Jennifer Marie Kichler, Tyler Kingsford, Justin Taylor Kistler, Charles Albert LePrevost, Timothy Charles Marangola, Stefano Marsella, Christopher John McMillan, Nicholas Zachary Miller, Christine Nguyen, Victoria Lynn Osborne, Megan Alexandra Paul, Matthew Peck, Vanessa Theresa Pettis, Eric Plummer, Matthew Pulley, Susan Brunswick Redmond, Gabriella Scarritt, Anita Michelle Smith, Lisa Ashley Sullivan, Anthony Michael Tuttle, Akshata Manjunath Udiavar, Daniel Simon Van Der Merwe, Devin Elizabeth Weiss, Kensey Elizabeth R Wheeler, Blakely Angela Wise.

Students first initiated into Beta Gamma Sigma as undergraduate students and earned second recognition as graduate students include: Alison Elizabeth Brightly, Andrew Robert Chaney, Ryan John Failla, Hefgine Garcia Fils-Aime, Morgan Lea Flanders, Benjamin Hayon, Hanna Virginia Legenza, Holley Anne Nelson, Megan Elizabeth Petitt, Swayze Sloan Smartt, Andrew Rutherforld Wagner, Mary Beth Watson, and Elizabeth Dale Wicker.

The Beta Gamma Sigma inductees join an expanding worldwide network of more than 650,000 outstanding business professionals who have earned recognition through lifetime membership in Beta Gamma Sigma. The honor societys members have served in corporate, government, non-profit, educational, and other management positions at every level of responsibility and reside in all 50 U.S. states and more than 160 countries around the world.

Students ranking in the top 10 percent of the baccalaureate and top 20 percent of graduate programs at schools accredited by AACSB International are eligible for this invitation.

Science Meets Business: Apple Fuel Cell Project Discussion

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

When solid science meets thoughtful business strategy, sustainability can be the most effective. Thats why the energy industry is keeping a close eye on the Apple Fuel Cell Project in North Carolina

As demand grows, why not push ourselves to as much as reasonably possible, supplement the existing infrastructure and replace retiring infrastructure and replace with facilities that run on solar, wind, and biomass, said, Michael Youth, Counsel and Regulatory Advisor, North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA).

Youth was part of a panel presentation on the Apple Fuel Cell Project April 25 at the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center. Dan Rastler, Senior Manager with the Electric Power Research Institute and Richard Williams, Professor of Physics also participated. Dan Fogel, Wake Forest University Executive Professor of Strategy and Associate Director of the Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, moderated the panel.

The fuel cell project is the largest one in the country not built by an electric utility company. It is at the Apples data center in Maiden, North Carolina. The data center will also host a planned 20-megawatt solar farm, the biggest ever for the state.

Williams and Rastler both provided background of the technology for the audience, which was largely made up of people in the business sector.

Its really an exciting technology. There are a lot of opportunities to get involved in the value chain, said Rastler. Fuel cells generate electricity through an electro-chemical process and are compared to batteries that give out power as long as they have a source of hydrogen. They are highly efficient, reliable and produce a lot of power. Thats essential for a company like Apple that needs high voltage to operate.

I think that the most interesting thing was just to see how technology has shifted, said Jenny Kichler (MBA 12), who has a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering. I think its only going to shift further, whether its fuel cells, solar, or whatever else.

Learning the science behind this emerging technology is important for those who want to be strategic leaders in sustainability.

If you dont know the foundation of what the business is you really cant provide any value in regards to where the business should go, said Desiree Mittman, Assistant Vice President at Wells Fargo (MBA 12). It gives you credibility.

Youth suspects Apples decision to put the fuel cell project at its data center was fueled by corporate social responsibility rather than economics, but he sees it as positive for the state.

NCSEA sees Apples concept as moving our power system in the right direction, said Youth. There are practical questions about how to marry Apples concept with our states renewable energy and energy efficiency portfolio standards.

Those standards are collectively known as the Reps Law. The law requires electric service providers to meet a portion of their overall demand through renewables based generation and energy efficiency measures. The Reps Law also comes with compliance credits, which Youth says is moving North Carolinas power system in a more sustainable direction.

Apple has said it will make landfill gas the farms primary fuel. Off-site bio gas will be injected into the natural gas pipelines for use at the Apple facility. Among the issues that concerns NCSEA, is making sure that the off-site gas isnt earning Reps credits in more than one place.

We want to make sure there isnt double counting going on, said Youth. But with due diligence he says, North Carolina can use the Apple opportunity to create an environment where other companies will follow the computer giants lead, furthering the states stake in the energy industry.

If we can have that happen we will have taken a step to making our power system more secure more resilient and more prosperous.

Wake Forest Charlotte Center Alumni Event: In the Wake of Success

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Students and alumnae of Wake Forest University gathered Apr. 16 at the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center for In the Wake of Success: A Womans Guide to the Top, an event focused on building an effective network and achieving work-life balance. The evening included small group break-out sessions followed by a panel discussion, both featuring successful professional women serving as guides.

Vicky Mitchener (83) was among the leaders of the small group
sessions. Mitchener, President of Dickens Mitchener & Associates, a Charlotte real estate agency, told the young women participating in her group to build authentic relationships, and to remember that what you do comes back to you in such large ways.

A session participant in her group noted that networking poses new challenges when a supervisor or co-workers are not present in the workplace in Charlotte, but instead may work thousands of miles away in another city.

Jennifer Blumer (87) was another small group leader. Blumer, a
partner in KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, said that being a parent and professional requires a daily balancing act. It ebbs and flows just like everything, said Blumer. She added that professional growth makes her a better parent because it builds her confidence.

In addition to Mitchener and Blumer, other group leaders were Patricia Zoder (94, MBA. 03); Holly Welch-Stubbing (93), J.D.; Michelle Horton (MBA. 02); Allison McWilliams (95), Ph.D.; Connie Carlson (87); Marjorie Benbow (JD/MBA 99), M.S.P.H.; Martha Eubank (86); Sandra Conway (83), M.Ed., MBA.; and Patricia Koury Roddey, (83), M.D.

Everyones path is different, said Horton, Founder and CEO of YOUniversity Drive, an organization that assists first generation college students, and Professor at Johnson C. Smith University.

Carlson, Director of the Exchange and Study Abroad Programs and A.P. Statistics Teacher at Charlotte Latin School, said she hoped to get across the message to be true to yourself and follow your heart.

There is no one right answer, she said.

After group sessions concluded, all groups converged in a classroom for a panel discussion moderated by Maria Henson (82). Henson, who led a distinguished newspaper career, now is an Associate Vice President at Wake Forest and Editor-at-Large of Wake Forest Magazine.

She also writes The Deacon Blog and teaches journalism.

Shannan Townsend (87), Melenie J. Lankau, Ph.D., Mary Tribble (82) and Lisa Quisenberry (81, MBA 84) were panelists. One topic panelists addressed was the relationship between mentors and mentees.

Townsend, Managing Director and Deputy Division Manager of the Large Corporate Energy Division, Corporate Banking Group at Wells Fargo Bank, told audience members they shouldnt view themselves exclusively as a mentor or a mentee. They may hold either role at various stages of life.

Live in your current job really well, said Lankau, Senior Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Diversity & Inclusion and Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Wake Forest University Schools of Business. Mentors like to see evidence of competence in mentees before they begin mentoring them, she said.

Tribble, Chief of Event Planning, Charlotte in 2012 Convention Host Committee for the Democratic National Convention, said a mentor should select her mentee. A mentoring relationship, she said, springs up because of mutual admiration and affection for each other.

Quisenberry, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hands on Charlotte, a leading volunteer service organization, told the audience she often receives phone calls from people requesting help launching nonprofits.

Her advice is to become engaged with another nonprofit organization before attempting to start one, she said.

Earlier in the evening, Quisenberry discussed how finding work-life balance means one side always weighs a little more than the other side. Its very much like a seesaw, she said.

For some of the 80 or so women who turned out to hear the small group leaders and panelists, it was a first opportunity to see the new Wake Forest Charlotte Center. Others had been to the January grand opening or another event at the center.

VIDEO: Professor Dan Fogel Discusses Apple's Fuel Cell Project on WCNC - TV

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Finance Major Louis Brotherton Wins "Capitalism with a Conscience" Essay Contest

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

WINSTON-SALEM, NC The BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism at Wake Forest University Schools of Business is pleased to announce that Louis Brotherton, a senior Finance major from Seattle, Washington won the 2012 Essay Contest: The Conscience of Business: What is the Role of Business Today?

Students were challenged to write about issues raised during a Capitalism with a Conscience event at Wake Forest in January that featured Whole Foods Market co-CEO, Walter Robb.

Brotherton won a $1,500 prize for his essay that presents a logical argument as to how the system of capitalism enables, and in fact encourages, the simultaneous pursuit of both corporate and social goals. He argues that

Business organizations come into being through the exercise of liberty by individuals who start them. They succeed or fail based on the exercise of liberties by various stakeholders who assess the values created and who choose to transact with them or not.

Although there are instances of unethical conduct by individuals and occasionally by organizations, these are exceptions.

The ethics of capitalism are predicated upon integrity and cooperation. Capitalism creates the incentive to cooperate, and the natural checks and balances of capitalism keep self-interest and ethical lapses in check.
Four other students received honorable mentions and $50 Whole Foods gift cards.

Every year the BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism offers the opportunity for Wake Forest students to weigh in on important questions about contemporary topics in our civil discourse, said Professor Page West, Director of the BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism. This years contest attracted a large number of entries from students across various fields of study. Faculty from across the campus served as judges in a blind review process where the judges have no information about the student. Congratulations to Louis and thank you to Whole Foods and the faculty judges for making this years contest such a success.

For more information BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism events may be found at (capitalism.wfu.edu).

Professor Mike Lord Comments on Hanesbrands Inc. Branded Imagewear Strategy

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Reposted from Winston-Salem Journal | by Richard Craver

Hanesbrands Inc. took a "less bad is better" approach to its first-quarter earnings report Thursday.

The company warned in January that historically high cotton costs and "hypercompetitive pricing" in the wholesale screen-print market would contribute to as high as a 35-cent earnings loss in the first quarter.

On Thursday, the company reported a $26.8 million loss and an earnings loss of 27 cents. Sales were down 2.7 percent to $1.01 billion.

"We are tracking consistent with our expectations, and now with the worst of the cotton inflation behind us, our operating profit margin for the remainder of the year should average in the low double digits," said Richard Noll, the company's chairman and chief executive officer.

Noll said its sales, profits and cash flow "are running consistent with, or better than, our plans." He said the company's cotton prices are set through December.

"When coupled with the visibility of our pricing and costs for the rest of the year, we feel very good about our momentum and are confident in our ability to achieve our full-year financial goals," Noll said.

Hanesbrands confirmed Thursday its fiscal 2012 earnings range of $2.50 to $2.60 a diluted share compared with $2.69 from fiscal 2011.

Although part of Hanesbrands' response to the higher cotton prices was to raise prices in several product categories, it didn't appear to affect sales too much at retail.

The company said its men's underwear sales rose in the mid-single digits, while panty sales were up in the high teens and Champion activewear sales increased in the mid-teens.

Hanesbrands said it experienced a loss of 18 cents a share related to the wholesale imagewear screen-print category. It expects a fiscal 2012 loss of 30 cents a share.

In response to the competition, Hanesbrands is focusing on branded imagewear product categories, which Noll said would result in a smaller, more profitable and less volatile operation.

Innerwear sales rose 1.3 percent during the first quarter to $509 million. Outerwear sales were down 9.2 percent to $294.2 million. International sales were down 5.2 percent to $120.4 million.

Michael Lord, an associate professor of management at Wake Forest University, said Hanesbrands has to carefully monitor its imagewear sales as it shifts away from more promotional apparel.

"It's a big drop in gross profits and gross margins," Lord said. "That's where most of the hit was versus last year. Otherwise, operating costs and most other measures didn't change much.

"It looks like the combination of higher input costs and lower sales in several categories put a significant squeeze on their gross profit margins. It's tough when you're getting squeezed on both sides."

Hanesbrands highlights

Here are highlights of the first-quarter report for Hanesbrands Inc.

Net income: Loss of $26.8 million compared with net income of $48.1 million a year ago.

Diluted earnings: Loss of 27 cents compared with earnings of 49 cents a year ago.

Average earnings forecast: Loss of 33 cents a share by analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

Share price: Fell 27 cents to close at $26.94. Hanesbrands released its earnings after the stock market closed Thursday.

Wake Forest Business Major Kate Cummings Earns Carolinas Agency Experience Internship

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Kate Cummings, a junior at Wake Forest University has been named a recipient of a 2012 Carolinas Agency Experience paid summer internship by the 4As Carolinas Council.

The internship program recognizes Wake Forest and UNC-Chapel Hill students who demonstrate outstanding potential in the field of marketing communications.

As part of this innovative 4As program, winning candidates are then able to choose the agency they wish to intern with from a list of potential host agencies throughout the Carolinas.

Cummings, a Business and Enterprise Management major from Austin, TX, will intern in account management with Woodbine in Winston-Salem.

This years Carolinas Agency Experience program has been our most successful to date in terms of attracting passionate marketing communications students and active participation among the Carolinas Council member agencies, said Brad Bennett, Council Chair and CEO of Wildfire & Keystone Marketing, Winston-Salem. Our Councils mission is to attract and retain great young talent in the Carolinas, and we quadrupled the number of qualified student applications in 2012. Congratulations to this years recipients.

For more information about the Carolinas Agency Experience and Carolinas Council, please visit (www.carolinasagencyexperience.com). For more information about the 4As, please visit (www.aaaa.org).

Wake Forest Charlotte Center to Host Panel Discussion about Apple Fuel Cell Project in N.C.

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Apples plans for the nations biggest private fuel cell energy project to be built in North Carolina will be the topic of a special panel discussion on Wednesday, April 25 from 5:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. at the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center.

The event is free and open to the public.

The fuel cell project is the nation's largest such project not built by an electric utility company, and will be developed this year at Apples Maiden, North Carolina data center. The data complex has already earned the LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and will also host a planned 20-megawatt solar farm, the biggest ever proposed in the state.

Fuel cells generate electricity through an electro-chemical process and are compared to batteries that give out power as long as they have a source of hydrogen.

Panelists who will discuss this fuel cell energy project and its impact on our future include:

Dan Rastler, Senior Manager in the Energy Storage & Distributed Energy Resources program at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

Michael Youth, Counsel and Regulatory Advisor, North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association

Richard Williams, Reynolds Professor, Physics Dept., Wake Forest University

The panel will be moderated by Dr. Dan Fogel, Associate Director of Policy, Enterprise, & Markets at the Wake Forest University Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability. He is also an Executive Professor of Strategy at the Wake Forest Schools of Business.

Energy has the potential to surpass the financial services industry to become the economic driver of the region, said Fogel. We have assembled a panel of experts who will talk about the pros and cons of fuel cell technology.

Advance registration is required. Click here for the online registration link.

Wake Forest Charlotte Graduate Finance Club Unites Students and Alumni

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Wake Forest Charlotte Graduate Finance Club has set the bar high.

The newly formed club held its first event on Wednesday, April 11 in the new Wake Forest University Charlotte Center. A full classroom more than 50 people from a variety of Wake Forest programs (Charlotte Evening MBA, Charlotte Saturday MBA, Full-time MBA, MSA and MA) attended a panel of finance professionals. The panel featured Private Equity, Investment Banking, Commercial Banking, Asset Management, Audit, and Compliance.

It was a really diverse group with a lot of helpful advice, said Lawrence Sansone (MBA 12), a second-year full-time MBA from the Winston-Salem campus.

The panel discussed a variety of subjects, including career progression, the value of an MBA, soft and transferable skills, and how to switch to a finance career.

Know what you want to do before you do it, said Ryan Simmons (MBA 11), an Investment Grade Credit Research Analyst with TIAA-CREF. Simmons offered three suggestions on ways to discover what career is the best fit for a student: 1) shadow someone; 2) be honest about what your skill set is; 3) be resilient.

Have the ability to fine tune your internal barometer, said Dan Niccum (04), a vice president at Brookwood Associates. Know when you need to dig into a financial model versus taking a 30,000-foot view, when to move at a fast pace or a strategic pace.

Those career-evaluating tips may be especially salient for students interested in investment banking. Students often intend to pursue that career for salary, prestige, and experience. But the panel offered wise words of wisdom for students considering that industry.

There are no transferable skills to prepare you for the rigors of the buy- or sell-side, Adam Richeson (MBA 11), who works in Business Development at private-equity firm CapitalSouth Partners, said. There are sleepless nights, and giving up time with family. You have to really enjoy the working environment.

Members on the panel from non-investment banking careers offered encouraging advice for students whose personality and skill set do not match investment banking/private equity.

People are driven for their first job by how much money they can make, but I have seen people who are much more passionate about their jobs have a lot more success, said Wes Beckner, a Regional President for BB&Ts commercial bank.

The word is equi-finality, Ravi Correa, a Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer for RoundPoint Mortgage, said. Dont think there is only one way to get where you want to go.

Students know they will develop the hard skills needed to succeed in a variety of finance careers from the Wake Forest curriculum. However, they were interested to learn what soft skills are necessary to develop before graduation.

Building rapport with clients is critical, said Matt Lindberg (02), who serves as a Vice President in the Industrial Group at Wells Fargos Investment Bank. You really need to form long-term relationships.

Trust and relationships are what get deals done because valuations are relatively close nine times out of ten, Richeson said.

The relationship management and communication skills are also needed internally, according to Beckner. When you integrate with several areas of the bank on a routine basis, how you develop those relationships is important so that you always receive cooperation.

The students were also interested to learn that their opinions can be valued from the very beginning of a new career.

The thing that sets people apart is if you know your stuff and then speak your mind, Correa said. Nobody wants a yes man. People appreciate ideas.

Know your stuff and challenge people. It is a skill that is appreciated, said Anna Engstrom (MSA 11), a Compliance Analyst at Wells Fargo Securities.

Members of the panel lauded students for choosing a finance path because those skills are probably the most transferable to other companies and roles. They also expressed that students were making the right education choice to further their career prospects.

Getting my MBA showed I was committed to asset management, and that I wanted to stay for the long term, Simmons said. It was a game changer for me.

VIDEO: Farrell Hall Construction Milestone Celebrated

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

WFUSB Farrell Hall Topping Off Ceremony from WFU Schools of Business on Vimeo.

More than 200 Wake Forest University Schools of Business students, faculty, staff, alumni and Board of Visitors members clapped and cheered as they watched the final steel beam being lifted and set into place on top of Farrell Hall, the future home of the Schools of Business.

Witnesses to this construction milestone were able to sign their names on the beam before it was hoisted up in the air by a crane and moved into place on April 13.

Wake Forest University President Nathan O. Hatch said, "It has been exciting to watch Farrell Hall, the physical manifestation of our commitment to the teacher-scholar ideal and faculty-student interaction, rise up out of the ground. When complete, it will be a space that both reflects and supports the distinctive mission of our Schools of Business."

As we witness this historic moment, I am reminded of just how many people have donated their time, financial resources and expertise to make Farrell Hall become a reality. Thank you for your contributions to the future home of the Schools of Business, added Steve Reinemund, Dean of Business.

Plans were announced for the project in October of 2011 when Mike and Mary Farrell of Summit, N.J., parents of 2010 Wake Forest Schools of Business graduate Michael Edward Farrell, contributed $10 million toward the $53.5 million dollar facility. It was the largest cash commitment ever by living individuals to the University and the largest commitment to the Schools of Business to date. Mike Farrell is chairman, chief executive officer and president of Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NLE), the largest listed residential mortgage real estate investment trust on the New York Stock Exchange. Farrell Hall is named in honor of Mike Farrells late father, Michael John Farrell.
Construction began April of 2011, and the building is scheduled to be completed in July of 2013.

The 128,000 square-foot Farrell Hall, designed to change the nature of business education, will feature sophisticated technology and innovative design to create an environment where faculty-student engagement can thrive. Built around a living-room concept that brings faculty and students together in new ways, the building was designed to include flexible classrooms and collaborative spaces, allowing both graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to learn intimately and intuitively within a shared space.

The three-story building will include a 400-seat auditorium funded by the Broyhill Family Foundation. The Broyhill Auditorium will be home to the Broyhill Leading Out Loud Executive Lecture Series, created to educate and inspire business students through exposure to industry leaders shaping todays business world.

A central 8,200 square-foot Founders Living Room, which Reinemund refers to as the soul of the Schools of Business, will provide a collegiate environment to enhance interaction among students, faculty and staff. Adjacent to the Founders Living Room, the Reynolds American Foundation Terrace and Gardens will extend into a naturally wooded area. Students, faculty, staff and visitors will have access to a vibrant open-air space, which complements the overall aesthetics of the building and allows the collaborative space in the building to extend outdoors.

Classrooms will also reflect a flexible, interactive approach and will use a flat-floor design where desks can be easily reconfigured from a lecture-style set up to a style suited to group projects.

The Bern Beatty Colloquium, an innovative space for learning and meeting, will be named for Bern Beatty, a long-time professor of management at Wake Forest. The space is designed for faculty presentations and small lectures.

Robert A.M. Stern Architects designed the building to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards. Frank L. Blum Construction Co. is the general contractor.

Wake Forest MA in Management Students Win Competition to Help End World Hunger

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

LOUISVILLE, KY A team of Wake Forest Schools of Business Master of Arts in Management (MA) students took home the grand prize in Yum! Brands TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU Case Study Challenge in Louisville, Ky on April 9.

Students were challenged to develop a proposal for Yum! Brands, parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, around the issue of global hunger as part of the Companys World Hunger Relief efforts. Students were tasked with leveraging the principles of Yum! Brands Chairman and CEO David Novaks new bestselling book, TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU: The Only Way to Make BIG Things Happen, to provide strategies to solve world hunger.

The Wake Forest team was comprised of students Larry Gordon (University of Dayton); Nick Miller (University of Michigan); Eric Plummer (Princeton University); Gabriela Scarritt (Brown University); and Anthony Tuttle (North Carolina State University), who will earn their Wake Forest MA degrees in May.

Wake Forest competed against MBA students from Northwestern University (Kellogg), University of Southern California (Marshall), University of Michigan (Ross), and UCLA (Anderson). All five campuses held local competitions with Yum! executives participating via the web, and the winning team from each campus traveled to the Yum! Restaurant Support Center in Louisville, KY on April 9 to compete in the final round.

The Wake Forest team was judged to have the best overall proposal. Yum! Brands honored the Wake Forest students by making a $250,000 donation on their behalf to the United Nations World Food Programme.

I am extremely proud of how our students embraced the challenge of advising Yum! Brands on how to address world hunger. They should be commended for using their creativity and business knowledge to develop an innovative solution to a critical social issue, said Steve Reinemund, Dean of Business.

Derrick Boone, Academic Director of the Wake Forest MA Program added, I am so proud that our Master of Arts in Management students performed so well alongside seasoned MBA students from some of the nations top business schools.

The 10-month Master of Arts in Management program at Wake Forest University is specifically designed for recent liberal arts, science and engineering graduates to broaden the focus of their undergraduate studies by providing business coursework and experiential learning opportunities. Information on the Wake Forest MA program may be found at WakeForestMA.com.

You can find out more about Yum! Brands World Hunger Relief campaign at www.fromhungertohope.com.

Related stories:
Winston-Salem Journal
Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Money News

Professor Brianna Caza's Research on "Pursuit of Callings" featured in Human Resources Executive Online

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

When "Callings" Can Be Troublesome
Reposted from Human Resources Executive Online | by By Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Human resource leaders need to spot workers whose "rigid work identities" can lead to burnout or conflicts with co-workers. Organizations should consider nurturing "flexible work identities" that make workers more adaptable, or adapting work assignments to appropriately manage individuals with rigid work identities.

Most organizations revel when workers believe their jobs are "callings," but human resource leaders should watch for attributes that can cause burnout or trouble with co-workers.

So says one of the authors of an article published in the Journal of Career Assessment in February.

People can pursue professional callings in a healthy way if they have "flexible work identities," which enable them to adapt to changes in their profession, their own lives and their organizational environment, says M. Teresa Cardador, a professor of labor and employment relations at the Champaign, Ill., campus of the University of Illinois.

Cardador co-authored the article, "Relational and Identity Perspectives on Healthy Versus Unhealthy Pursuit of Callings," with Brianna B. Caza, a professor at the School of Business at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Individuals with "rigid work identities" may pursue callings in unhealthy ways because they have overly strict notions of how their job should be performed, Cardador says. When co-workers or the organization as a whole don't uphold to what some employees perceive as "high standards," that can lead to burnout or conflict.

HR leaders need to foster flexible work identities within their talent-management programs, she says, especially for those employees who believe they have a calling.

"They should also foster an organizational culture that promotes flexibility and adaptability, and emphasizes cooperation," Cardador says. "This could help workers be more capable of adjusting or better respond to natural challenges."

Organizations should also foster a stronger "sense of community," which helps employees adapt to stressors, minimizes conflict and increases trust, Cardador says.

"HR managers should also enact work/life balance policies, which could also help the worker with a rigid work identity be more adaptive," she says.

Jackie Greaner, Towers Watson's talent management and organization alignment practice leader for North America, says individuals with flexible work identities can see themselves changing job roles or even careers if the situation calls for it. People with rigid work identities often can't envision themselves in any other capacity.

"When that career doesn't pan out or they get burned out, they become disillusioned and quit, or do something dysfunctional, which causes conflict in work and personal relationships," says Greaner, who is based in Atlanta.

"HR leaders need to help them develop a growth mind-set, so that they can fulfill their needs, motivations and values in different ways," she says.

Not everyone with a rigid work identity approaches their calling in unhealthy ways, however, says Seymour Adler, a partner with Aon Hewitt in New York and an organizational psychologist.

In fact, he says, sometimes such identities can even be beneficial for organizations.

"There's a fine line between rigid work identity and frustration that their organization is not committed to professional standards," Adler says. "It could be someone who pushes back against the organization or whistleblowers -- sometimes what is perceived as rigid is standing up for something that is right."

Still, HR executives should make sure to include self-awareness exercises in their career-development programs, as well as encourage employees to vent their frustrations when operations aren't running smoothly -- and then find ways to fix those organizational gaps, he says.

Leaders should be chosen based on their emotional astuteness, Adler says.

"Being emotionally astute is very important these days as we're in a period of 'permanent white water' -- constantly changing organizational structures," he says. "Leaders have to help their employees cope with the stress of the changes."

Chip Conley, founder of San Francisco-based Joie de Vivre Hotels and author of Emotional Equations, says there's a difference between a workaholic who has a rigid identity and an individual who has a calling for their work.

HR leaders, he says, need to understand that many workers have periods of time when they have to work "ridiculous hours," for either circumstantial reasons or because the job requires it. They also need to recognize when people are using work as an addiction to "run away from something."

"A workaholic uses work to distract themselves from something inside of themselves that they don't want to be feeling," Conley says. "Someone who has a calling is using work as a means of connecting deep inside of themselves that serves as fuel for a purpose."

If a worker is losing his or her work/life balance or is not as productive as previously, HR practitioners should gently probe them to consider tackling their inner feelings or refer them to an employee-assistance program, Conley says.

John Gibbons, vice president of research and development for i4cp in New York, says HR executives should not automatically consider rigid work identities as a positive or a negative, but rather find ways to appropriately "manage" the person.

For example, he says, someone with such an identity might thrive on independent projects in which they could get recognition for their way of performing duties -- without getting into clashes with other employees.

"HR people might actually be able to capitalize on that rigid work identity," Gibbons says.

VIDEO: Ricardo Terán - Unleashing the Potential of Impact Entrepreneurs

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Wake Forest University Center for Enterprise Research and Education and the Wake Forest University BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism welcomed Ricardo Terán, Managing Partner, Agora Partnerships to present "Unleashing the Potential of Impact Entrepreneurs" on April 10.

CLICK HERE to watch video

Small business entrepreneurs are the worlds frontline risk takers, job creators and problem solvers, but too many world-changing enterprises fail due to a lack of effective, early stage support.

Agora Partnerships Accelerator identifies promising, impact-focused entrepreneurs in Central America & Mexico. They create a global network to help the entrepreneurs build scaleable business models, provide them with tools to grow their business and their impact, coach them in the capital raising process, and connect them to impact investors.

The presentation was co-sponsored by the Center for Enterprise Research and Education and the BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism.

VIDEO: Habitat for Humanity CEO Headlines Wake Forest Charlotte Center Nonprofit Symposium

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Wake Forest University Charlotte Center welcomed Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International, to launch an educational initiative to support nonprofit organizations. Reckford served as the keynote speaker for Navigating for the Future a free symposium for nonprofit organizations on March 28.

More than 200 people representing a wide variety of nonprofit organizations attended the symposium which will become an annual event at the Wake Forest Charlotte Center.

Steve Reinemund, Dean of Business, and Anthony Foxx, Mayor of Charlotte welcomed attendees who gathered at the Bank of America Auditorium to hear Reckfords keynote address.

Reckfords presentation titled, Turning Calamity into Opportunity emphasized how a crisis provides opportunities for innovation and rethinking business as usual. He discussed how the tsunami in Asia and hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the United States forced Habitat for Humanity to become more nimble.

People lost their lives, their homes, their communities and their businesses. But the magnitude of the destruction and our desire to help more families rebuild their lives forced us to change our idea of what was possible. It meant that we had to test new ideas and attempt some strategies that we never tried before, he said.

Reckford said those natural disasters prompted Habitat for Humanity to shift its paradigm of building individual homes to one of developing entire communities.

The housing crisis created yet another challenge for Habitat for Humanity, he said. With the increasing numbers of vacant, foreclosed homes, the organization worked on repairs and rehab of existing homes to purchase and sell at an affordable price to low-income families.

Audience members watched in amazement as Reckford showed before and after photos of
a Habitat for Humanity neighborhood revitalization project along Cherry Street in Winston-Salem. Reckford commended Wake Forest University students, faculty and staff for work on the project, and said his organization has set a goal to serve 100,000 families a year worldwide by 2013.

Reckford closed his keynote address by recognizing the passion and work of the Charlotte-area nonprofit community. I want to thank all of you who made the decision at some point to invest your time, talent and treasure into making the world a better place.

Joanne OBrien Beam (84), Managing Partner of Capstone Advancement Partners and President of the Wake Forest University Charlotte Alumni Club, said she was impressed by Reckfords message. He runs an enormous organization, but was able to put it into perspective for any organization, big or small, she said.

The keynote address transitioned into a fireside chat with Reckford and Reinemund, moderated by Dr. Leighton Ford, author, social activist and president of Leighton Ford Ministries.

The conversation touched on topics such passion, navigating change, mandatory monetary commitments for board members, and the transition from a business career to nonprofit sector.
While concluding the session, Ford told the audience, I want to thank you for being hope holders.

Steve Virgil, Director of the Wake Forest University Community Law and Business Clinic, announced that the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center will host Essentials of Business for Nonprofit Organizations, an executive education series starting in September. Course topics will include: Governance, Strategic Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Human Resources, Fund Development, Collaboration, Evaluation, Advocacy and Communication, and Leadership Lessons for Nonprofits. Registration opens June 1. Some scholarships are available thanks to the support of corporate partners Duke Energy and Foundation for the Carolinas. More information may be found at (uptownmba.com).

Ethics Speaker Series: "Individualism, Altruism and the Elusive Common Ground"

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Wake Forest University BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism will welcome Dr. Ann Buchholtz, Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Rutgers Business School, to present "Individualism, Altruism and the Elusive Common Ground."

The presentation is Wednesday, April 4 from 5:00 - 6:15 p.m. in Kirby Hall, G001 on the Wake Forest University campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Ann Buchholtz will explore the tensions between individualisms focus on self-interest and altruisms focus on the welfare of others. At the individual, organizational and societal levels of analysis, she argues that placing them in opposition creates a false dichotomy that ignores the extent to which concern for the welfare of others is consistent with promoting self-interest.

Dr. Buchholtz is past Division Chair of the Social Issues in Management Division of the Academy of Management, was a member of the ethics task force that designed a Code of Ethics for the Academy and served as the inaugural chairperson of the Academy's Ethics Adjudication Committee.

Her work has been published in Business and Society, Business Ethics Quarterly, the Academy of Management Journal, the Academy of Management Review, the Journal of Management, Organization Science, the Journal of Management Studies, Corporate Governance an International Review, among others.

She is co-author of Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management, 8th ed. (Cengage) and serves on the editorial boards of Business & Society and Business Ethics Quarterly.

Hylton Lecture Series: Megatrends and the Future of Accounting

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

For todays accounting students, looking into the future will be key to their success.

"The more you think some of these trends, I think the more you begin to think sort of strategically about where you are and what youre doing and what youre going to do next, said Jan Williams, the featured speaker of the 2012 Hylton Lecture. Williams is the Dean of the College of Administration at the University of Tennessee.

Williams said students need to pay attention to the megatrends affecting global business and infrastructure and ultimately how they will affect the accounting industry. Williams outlined several trends he thinks will have the most impact, including developments in technology, the financial industry and in globalization.

Megatrends will significantly impact you as an individual and theyll impact your career, said Williams.

Williams said students need to consider their careers in terms of these megatrends things like the proliferation of information, privacy issues, global competition and about changing financial markets.

We dont think students hear this enough about the commitment the profession has to providing the public benefit and in exchange for that society bringing to that group certain lean to autonomy, said Williams. The social contract we have places accountants in positions of trust.

That means the profession needs to be even more attune to global trends and how they are affecting the accounting industry. Recent financial failures have placed the profession under increased scrutiny, global competition is rapidly increasing, and as international business continues to grow, financial reporting standards continue to be a challenge.

They require those of us in this profession to do more than simply than apply technical rules, we have to think effectively, we have to be problem solvers.

Students need be willing to adapt in a changing marketplace. I think you can expect to make several career changes, he said. You need to be willing to move in new, different and unexpected directions.

Having a career plan is important, but being flexible is just as essential. Williams also encouraged students to value breadth in their education, pursuing additional courses in areas like the social sciences. But what is most important for students to remember is their education doesnt stop after graduation.

Theres a reason when you finish college and you go across the stage and get your diploma, they call it a commencement, said Williams. It really is a beginning of the rest of your life.

The Hylton Lecture Series in Accountancy was established in 1980 to honor Delmar P. Hylton, who started Wake Forests accountancy program in 1949 and helped build it into one of the top accounting programs in the nation before retiring in 1991. He died in December 2008.

Professor Holly Brower Offers Ethical Leadership Advice in Investor's Business Daily

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Take These Steps To Improve Weakening Leader Ethics
Reposted from Investor's Business Daily | By Steve Watkins

Companies are making strides when it comes to building an ethical culture. The amount of misconduct that employees observe has reached a historic low. At the same time, workers are likelier to report any wrongdoing they see.

But the Washington, D.C.-based Ethics Resource Center's biennial National Business Ethics Survey also shows areas that portend trouble if firms don't address them. Employees say their leaders' ethics are in decline and moral cultures are weakening. And those who blow the whistle on wrongdoing believe they face more retaliation from higher-ups than in the past.

Here's how leaders can reverse those troublesome signs and keep up the strong points.

Improve the environment. Employees who say their companies have weak ethical cultures climbed to near-record levels in the survey. Leaders need to show employees across the firm that integrity is a priority or they'll pay the price, said Patricia Harned, president of the ERC, which is a nonprofit research firm: "When cultures weaken, we expect to see more misconduct next time. This is a reason for leaders to not rest on their laurels."

Raise visibility. Harned tells leaders to take a close look at their ethics programs such as training and hot lines to report wrongdoing. Make sure they work and emphasize them to workers. "Just because you have them doesn't mean employees are aware of them and intend to use them," she said.

Aim high. Sure, it's vital to get people throughout the firm to buy into the importance of an honest culture. But top executives need to create that climate first or it won't stick, said Holly Brower, who teaches leadership at Wake Forest University: "Leaders have to provide the support and direction, and they have to model the way."

Communicate. Show employees the value you place on honesty by talking about it constantly. Encourage two-way discussions. And have the CEO fly to the firm's various locations for ethics training.

"That shows that it's a priority," Brower said. "You know this is costing the company money, so it must be important to them."

Train them. Lower-level managers have the biggest impact on whether employees view the company as ethical. Firms need to show those supervisors how to handle complaints and set an honest tone within their group, Harned says. Have them refer to the code of conduct frequently in team meetings. Have them explain the role that core values play in decisions.

Cut the coercion. The survey showed that the number of employees who felt pressured to cut ethical corners jumped. Solve that by stating often it's crucial to make the numbers, but without sacrificing integrity. "The tone the supervisor sets can make all the difference in the world," Harned said.

Follow up. It's imperative to show you won't tolerate those who break your rules, Brower says. Restaurant operator Denny's (DENN) rebounded from discrimination claims in the 1990s by being clear that any employee doing anything discriminatory would be fired, Brower says. No exceptions. No second chances. "Then employees know that's the culture," she said.

Tell it. Explain to employees the kinds of actions you want by using real-world examples. If someone walked away from a big sale because the client wanted a kick-back, use that as a model. "Show that we do the right thing, even if it costs us money," Brower said.

Make it pay. When reviewing managers, include how they handle misconduct and foster a culture of integrity. "It becomes a formal part of the evaluation process," Harned said.

Habitat for Humanity CEO Headlines Wake Forest University Charlotte Center Nonprofit Symposium

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Habitat leader speaks at Wake symposium
Reposted from The Charlotte Observer | By Celeste Smith

Change can be hard at nonprofits and feel as drastic as, say, a music change at your church, the leader of one of the countrys most successful charities said Wednesday.

But responding to major tragedies has a way of helping nonprofits redefine their mission and change the way they do things, according to Jonathan Reckford of Habitat for Humanity International, which builds homes for the poor.

A disaster gives you permission to break cultural norms, said Reckford, named CEO in August 2005.

Reckford was in Charlotte on Wednesday for Navigating for the Future, a symposium for nonprofit organizations presented by Wake Forest University Charlotte Center.

Reckford is a former Best Buy and Circuit City executive and pastor of a Minnesota church. His opening remarks led to an informal chat involving Steve Reinemund, dean of business at Wake Forest University and retired chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Inc., and Dr. Leighton Ford, former vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Ford is now president of a faith-based ministry focusing on younger leaders.

Reckford said large-scale struggles can help rally people toward a bigger challenge and a bigger mission. Sometimes change when you dont have a crisis is the hardest type of change.

Reckford, who grew up in North Carolina and is a UNC Chapel Hill graduate, spoke from personal perspective. Early in his tenure, Reckford led Habitats rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of two natural disasters: the tsunami in Asia and Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

He also came in to lead the organization after turmoil over the firing of its founder.

During the chat portion, Ford asked the two former businessmen what corporate-world traits are good for nonprofits.

Being able to allow every volunteer and every person who touches that nonprofit to own what they do, said Reinemund, who served on the Salvation Armys national advisory board from 1990 to 1999.

Weathering a Storm: Wake Forest MBA Student's Home Destroyed by a Tornado

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

While many Wake Forest University Schools of Business students were off soaking up the sun on Spring Break, Vanessa Hosein (MBA 13) was weathering a storm that will last for months.

Vanessa, a first-year student in the Saturday MBA program in Charlotte, was home studying for Financial Accounting and Quantitative Analysis tests on March 3 when a tornado broke through the silence, ripping through her home, tearing away walls and destroying everything in its path. Trees snapped off their trunks and shot like missiles into the walls of her home. The intense winds tossed around and swept away furniture, clothing, personal belongings and documents. The force of the twister sucked in the garage door, causing the door to wedge onto her car that was parked inside. The homes privacy fence is gone as is any sense of normalcy in Vanessas life.

Through it all, she is grateful to be alive and thankful that she sent her beloved dog Gizmo off to stay with a friend that night so she could focus on studying.

Focusing on studying in the days and weeks following the tornado is a tremendous challenge. As a student in a working professionals MBA program, Vanessa has a full-time job to maintain as well. It has been very, very difficult. I had to go back to work part-time after one week and full-time after two weeks. I dont have someone to financially support me other than myself and insurance does not pay for lost wages, she said.

Vanessa stayed in a hotel for two weeks before moving into a temporary apartment. Anything she could recover from her home has been hauled off to a storage unit. She still has to pay her mortgage, even though her house is unlivable.

She has gone from running regressions and building financial models, to landing knee deep in insurance paperwork, trying to find a way to rebuild her home. Vanessa has been warned that the process could easily last nine months.

But she is not weathering this storm on her own.

I have very good friends who are my family. They helped me with everything from moving out of the house, securing the property, finding a hotel or an apartment, and taking care of my dog. I cant say enough about my friends, they have been wonderful, she said.

My coworkers and bosses have been excellent as well as my professors and the Wake Forest family who have helped me get caught up with my missed classes and coursework. WFUSB staff members Kyla Acie and Pasquale Quintero have been so understanding and accommodating.

In fact, many people have reached out to check in with Vanessa and offer her support. I could not keep up with all the calls, e-mails and texts that I was getting. My phone was going dead all of the time, and I needed to find a way to pass on information to everyone quickly. Ive never done a blog but it seemed to be the best way to get the info out.

You can keep up with Vanessas news in her 11707Twister blog (11707twister.blogspot.com).

Wake Forest students, faculty and staff have asked how to embody the schools Pro Humanitate motto and help Vanessa. The Wake Forest University Charlotte Center staff is collecting monetary donations to deliver to her. Checks, cash and VISA gift cards may be dropped off at the Wake Forest Charlotte Center in Uptown or mailed to: Wake Forest University Charlotte Center, Attention Vanessa Hosein (MBA 13), 200 North College Street, Charlotte, NC 28202.